This year’s winning Philly restaurant-inspired potato chip will become a regular Herr’s flavor

Food and beverage companies love Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber. Wawa has the Schwarbomb energy drink. Aramark: the SchwarBurger and Kyle’s Cutlets, with proceeds supporting his foundation, Schwarber’s Neighborhood Heroes. Yards Brewing Co: brand ambassador for Philly Standard beers.

Now he’s going to bat for Herr’s, the Chester County snack-food maker, as spokesperson for this year’s Flavored by Philly: Crunch Off, Herr’s annual chip-flavor contest.

It has a new format. Previously, Herr’s put three different flavors up to a public vote every year.

Herr’s 2022 winner was Long Hots & Sharp Provolone, modeled on a generic roast pork sandwich. (Tasting notes: bold roasted pepper flavor, sharp Provolone undertones, and a gradually building mild spiciness.) In 2023, when Herr’s began featuring flavors inspired by Philadelphia-area businesses, the winner was Corropolese’s tomato pie in East Norriton, whose profile is a sweet tomato sauce and Romano cheese. In 2024, the top chip was based on the hot stromboli from Romano’s in Essington, where cheese and spices replicate the ham, cotechino salami, and Provolone in what’s essentially a Version 1.0 of a Hot Pocket.

Herr’s gave $10,000 to the winners’ designated charity, and the flavors were sold only during the voting period.

For 2025, the past three winning flavors — long hots & sharp provolone, tomato pie, and hot stromboli — will compete, and the flavor with the most votes will become part of Herr’s everyday lineup of chips.

Among Inquirer journalists, a taste-test showed equal love for the long hots and sharp Provolone (“addictively spicy on the back end”) and the tomato pie (“like pizza Pringles, but sweeter”). The stromboli, not so much (“the seasoning powder is trying to replicate the taste of deli meat — there’s too much going on”).

In a chat last week, when asked to pick his favorite chip among the three, Schwarber checked his swing. “They’re all different, unique flavors, but they’re all very tasty, like something I would eat on a daily basis,” he said diplomatically, adding that his favorite on any day might be “a mood thing for me.”

Growing up in central Ohio — far from Herr’s territory — Schwarber and family ate Grippo’s. “Obviously, we had the big commercial chips like Lay’s and everything like that but the barbecue Grippo’s were kind of the Cincinnati staple,” he said.

Since 2022, when he arrived in Philadelphia, he’s been a Herr’s guy. The company, a Phillies sponsor, stocks its snacks in the clubhouse. “I go to the pantry [in the clubhouse] and they’re sitting right there,” Schwarber said. It also supports his foundation, he said.

Voting at herrsflavoredbyphilly.com will close Aug. 4 and the winning flavor will be revealed by Aug. 31. Voters will also be entered to win one of eight sweepstakes prizes, including a Herr’s gift basket filled with snacks and merchandise, plus a $100 gift card.